The FDA has finally taken an official stance against added sugar, recommending that consumers limit their total daily intake of added sugar to no more than 10 percent of their daily calories. “Added sugar” is simply sugar added to food during the production process; 10 percent amounts to an average of about 50 grams (12.5 teaspoons) per day, or about as much sugar as in a single can of Coke. But with over 60 forms of added sugar, it can easily be disguised on ingredient labels.

Obesity is one of the greatest current public health concerns, as it is a major risk factor for metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome, which is a cluster of risk factors that raises risk for heart disease and other health problems.

Who We Are

Researchers, educators, clinicians, nutrition and wellness experts of the Division of Chronic Disease Research Across the Lifecourse (CoRAL) in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute.